KitchenAid is Awesome; Replaces 4 Year Old Mixer

Robin recently had a terrible experience with a broken Roomba and the unhelpful people at iRobot, so she was shocked and amazed by the helpful customer service of KitchenAid. From her email:

“Recently, while grinding meat, the KitchenAid Artisan stand mixer that my husband and I received as a wedding present in 2002 came to a screeching halt – complete with burning smell and ear-deafening noise. The mixer had the phone number listed it so I figured, what the hell. I called them, bracing myself for a repair estimate that would cost almost as much as a replacement mixer.”

KitchenAid offered to send her an estimate kit for $30, and she agreed.

“Thirty bucks seemed like a reasonable fee to pay to have someone tell me what was wrong with my dead mixer so I rattled off my credit card number and, being the skeptic I am, started pricing new mixers.

A few days later I received a box with detailed instructions for packing up my mixer, a pre-paid shipping decal and styrofoam molded perfectly to the shape of our mixer. Everything fit perfectly in the box—we sealed it up, sent it off and hoped for the best. So far so good—painless and easy.”

Today KitchenAid called with good news and bad news. The bad news was that her mixer was totally trashed and could not be repaired. The good news was, Robin was getting a replacement mixer free of charge.

“I was so excited I almost cried—so instead I did the next best thing: I emailed you guys so you could spread the news about my newfound appreciation and love for KitchenAid. From start to finish, my experience has been pleasurable—kind people, informative representative and a better-than expected outcome. I couldn’t ask for more. “

Good job, KitchenAid! We have nothing snarky to say. —MEGHANN MARCO

Read Robin’s email inside.

Coming off of a very, very bad experience with the iRobot people (in which they informed me that they do not perform repairs (at all) on Roombas that are out of the 1-year warranty but instead will sell you a refurbished Roomba (if you package up your old, broken Roomba and send it to them) for $5 less than you can purchase a new one.) I had a great experience with KitchenAid that I thought you should know about.

Recently, while grinding meat, the KitchenAid Artisan stand mixer that my husband and I received as a wedding present in 2002 came to a screeching halt – complete with burning smell and ear-deafening noise. The mixer had the phone number listed it so I figured, what the hell. I called them, bracing myself for a repair estimate that would cost almost as much as a replacement mixer.

After giving the rep my mixer serial and model numbers, she informed me that for $30 they’d send me a kit in which I could pack up my mixer and send it to them – once they received it, they would call me with an estimate. Thirty bucks seemed like a reasonable fee to pay to have someone tell me what was wrong with my dead mixer so I rattled off my credit card number and, being the skeptic I am, started pricing new mixers.

A few days later I received a box with detailed instructions for packing up my mixer, a pre-paid shipping decal and styrofoam molded perfectly to the shape of our mixer. Everything fit perfectly in the box – we sealed it up, sent it off and hoped for the best. So far so good – painless and easy.

Today (a few weeks later) I received a call from KitchenAid. “I’m calling about your mixer,” the rep began. “We have good news and bad news – I’m going to start with the bad. Your (hauck?) gear is frozen and your mixer cannot be repaired.”

My heart dropped and I envisioned another Roomba-type scenario in which they would inform me that they’d sell me a refurbished mixer at close to the retail price of a new one.

“The good news is that we’re replacing your mixer – free of charge.”

I was so excited I almost cried – so instead I did the next best thing: I emailed you guys so you could spread the news about my newfound appreciation and love for KitchenAid. From start to finish, my experience has been pleasurable – kind people, informative representative and a better-than expected outcome. I couldn’t ask for more.

Want my advice about how to spend that money you’ve got burning a hole in your pocket and need to buy Mom something for Christmas? Get a KitchenAid mixer and skip the Roomba.

Kitchen Aid is famous for the guarantee on their mixer, one of the most perfect product designs ever. Other companies/products with similar reputations/guarantees are Zippo lighters and Jansport backpacks.

You gotta buy your Roombas and Scoobas from
Hammacher Schlemmer – lifetime warranty and supurb customer service. I got my Roomba from them and my Scooba from Woot – and have been regretting the Woot purchase every time something goes wrong with the Scooba.

I love my KitchenAid mixer and food processor. A brand that lives up to its hype and branding, unlike say, Viking. They are permanent fixtures on my countertop (well, because they are good but also they are too heavy for my girlfriend to move often).

This is similar to the post a long time ago about the Moen faucet that the guy was having a hard time installing. He called the customer assistance number and was asked to leave his info and he would get a call back. To his surprise, he got a call back, on a Saturday, from someone who knew what the crap he was talking about. And voila, things worked out.

Kitchenaid is similar in that they make excellent products in the first place. They do charge a pretty penny, but they tend to be worth it. And as a result, you get the awesomeness of the lifetime warranty and excellent durability. I love our Kitchenaid mixer.

Another fan here. I got one as a gift from my mother-in-law the first Christmas I was married. Hers is 35 years old and still doing great. I love mine and use it with embarrassing frequency. I also have the shredder./slicer, the meat grinder, and the ice cream maker attachments. These are a really good argument against the notion that people don’t want durable goods that can be repaired, but prefer cheaper throwaway small appliances.

I also like my Kitchen Aid food processor. It has heft, like the mixer.

Just had a great experience with KitchenAid myself. Got ours for a wedding gift in April, it started making noises and acting generally funky. Called KitchenAid and they told me to put the phone up to the mixer and after hearing it over the phone, they said “We’re sending you one out tomorrow free of charge.” We just have to pack up the old one in the box they send the new one in and UPS will come back and get it. NO CHARGE for any of this…and without a receipt since this was a gift! Great to see some companies will still do right by their customers, honoring the spirit of the warranty while not following its limitations to the letter. I will always buy KitchenAid after this great treatment!

“Women my mom’s age have been singing KitchenAid’s praises for decades. Why? Because they make a great product that lasts forever.”

Yeah, my best friend was just trying to decide what color to register for for her wedding because she doesn’t want to have the 2006 equivalent of 70s avocado and goldrod and I said, “It’s just a mixer — you’ll probably replace it in 10 years.” Then I said, “No, wait, it’s a Kitchen Aid. You’re going to have that puppy until you DIE!”

My mother’s Kitchen Aid is 35 years old and still works perfectly. (And is Goldenrod.) Mine is 2 and I look forward to many happy decades of mixing with it. :D

Wait, I’m not understanding what the $30 charge was for. I mean yeah, $30 rather than a few hundred is certainly a bargain, but what exactly was it for? $30 so they would send Robin a box to mail the mixer back in? Most companies would do that for free on defective-type merchandise, wouldn’t they? Or maybe it’s an actual “kit” and me and my $25 wal-mart mixer just have no concept of such a thing.

Even my husband loves my Kitchen Aid – says it’s the only “girl” appliance (defined as for the kitchen or sewing or vacuuming – yep, I married a winner) that he’s ever seen that’s “built like a power tool.”

I love mine, too. I really like making my own ground beef and sausage, but the grinder attachment does take some skill to use. You have to use the right size grating for your ingredients(don’t try to go too small, too quick) and always use a low gear.

Reading reviews from foodie type folks leads me to believe this is not your mom’s Kitchen Aide any longer. A few years ago they changed to motor design and many brun out under heavy use. Now, they’re still a great company as seen in this incident – but maybe replacing the few that people actually report is still less expensive than continuing to make them bulletproof? I love my KA, but I definitely don’t see the 100% satisfaction with quality I used to.

I think when Sunbeam took over kitchenaid (if i am remembering correctly) there was some discussion of quality going down quickly. But then Sunbeam has had some management changes as well.

It has seemed like their product is getting better. But really, it’s a good argument – I see many kitchenaids sitting collecting dust, and maybe are used once or twice a year. At that rate if increase your replacement rate from 1% to 5%, but drop your production costs by 30%, you can save big $$, and make more profit.

Regarding “Moonshine Mike”‘s comment on 12/04/06, Sunbeam does not own KitchenAid. Sunbeam is actually owned by Jarden Consumer Solutions.

Whirlpool is the parent company of KitchenAid since 1986. Whirlpool purchased it from Dart and Kraft in 1986. Hobart, the originators of the name ‘KitchenAid’, sold the KitchenAid name and products to Dart and Kraft in 1980.

The very first home Mixer with the unique planetary mixing actions that KitchenAid is known for began in 1919, with the model H-5. Many of the H-5 models are still in use today!

The $32 charge is for a kit — it includes shipping 3 ways — 1), instructions/paperwork, carton and styrofoam to you to pack your mixer, 2) prepaid label to return your mixer, and 3) shipment of your repaired mixer back to you. The shipment of styrofoam and carton is lightweight, but at 2 way shipping of a 25 – 30 lb. mixer — this is a bargain!!

Other companies/products with similar reputations/guarantees are Zippo lighters and Jansport backpacks.

I can definitely speak for the Jansport guarantee. I bought one of their backpacks in eighth grade, and used it up until sophomore year of college. It eventually developed a rip in the side that was likely due to something sharp I had placed in the bag. Just for the hell of it, I shipped it back to Jansport – and within a couple of weeks they sent me a brand new bag. I felt kind of bad about it, actually.

I have a great experience to tell about Kitchen aid as well. We have a 300 watt mixer I got for my birthday about 5 or 6 years ago. We dont use it often, but we use it a few times a year. The last few times we have used it, we have noticed the motor was starting to fail. The last time we used it, we saw some smoke coming from the outlet. I called Kitchenaid today after reading this, and after I told them what happened, they said they hate to see anyones mixer fail like this and will send us a refurbished mixer and all they had to send us was the Artisan which is slightly better mixer than we had, free of charge. Its really nice to see companies stand behind their products like this, even when the product is no longer under warranty. I didnt even have to send mine in or pay shipping or anything, so my replacement is totally free.

Well, my experience was different from pretty much everyone here. My mixer’s motor burned out and I called Kitchenaid to see about a repair. All they offered me were the names of repair shops I could call locally. No offer to send it in to them for repair or replacement. The guy said they only have a 1 year warranty. Certainly this is not the type of behavior I would call “standing behind their products.”